Posted by Krista Spensley
Alberta has passed what is being called Canada's toughest distracted driving legislation. Bill 16 the Traffic Safety Distracted Driving Act takes effect on September 1st , 2011. This Bill bans talking on cell phones and texting while driving it also prohibits many other activities.
This said we feel it is important to educate our customers about the upcoming legislation. Here is the information that is available about the legislation from the Government of Alberta Transportation website.
Bill 16 - Distracted Driving Legislation
Distracted Driving Law in Effect September 1, 2011
Highlights:
-
Restricts drivers from:
- using hand-held cell phones
- texting or e-mailing
- using electronic devices like laptop computers, video games, cameras, video entertainment displays and programming portable audio players (e.g., MP3 players)
- entering information on GPS units
- reading printed materials in the vehicle
- writing, printing or sketching, and
- personal grooming
- Complements the current driving without due care and attention legislation
- Applies to all vehicles as defined by the Traffic Safety Act, including bicycles
- Applies to all roads in both urban and rural areas of the province
- The fine for this new offence is $172
Stop by one any one of our three locations and let one of our dedicated Cellular Communications Consultants show you our line up of handsfree accessories.
Posted by Krista Spensley
TELUS has changed the game when it comes to wireless device contracts, with the new Clear and Simple device ownership agreements. TELUS posted the following press release this morning.
TELUS revolutionizes wireless device ownership in Canada
TELUS does away with high cancellation fees, championing fairness and transparency for Canadians with new Clear and Simple device ownership agreements
Toronto, On – TELUS has achieved another milestone today in its commitment to make wireless client experience friendlier for Canadians by further simplifying device ownership agreements and sweeping away high cancellation fees.
When TELUS consumers and business customers want to end their agreement early to upgrade to a new TELUS device they only need to pay their device balance displayed on their monthly bill – the remaining portion of the device credit they received when they purchased their previous device.
“Over the last few years, we’ve worked hard to enhance what Future Friendly really means for our customers. They want more than just the latest smartphones - they want a stellar customer experience and that is what we are striving for,” said David Fuller, TELUS Chief Marketing Officer. “We believe they deserve fairness and transparency in their pricing from us and that’s what we’ve done by removing system access and 911 carrier fees, simplifying our pricing plans, lowering international roaming rates, setting up free SMS notifications to alert clients about data usage which helps them avoid surprising overage charges, and offering to unlock their devices. Now, we are taking our commitment one big step further by removing significant cancellation fees and offering our customers the option of upgrading to a newer device at any time, rather than making them wait until their agreement expires. These improvements further solidify our commitment to offer the best customer experience in Canada.”
Since November 2010, all TELUS customers have been able to upgrade to a new device at any time with TELUS’ Early Device Upgrade program. TELUS’ new and improved device ownership program enables customers who signed up after November 21, 2010 to see the remaining device balance displayed on their monthly bill, a balance that goes down every month until their agreement expires. TELUS customers can now upgrade at any time to a new handset at the acquisition price simply by paying back their outstanding device balance. If customers want to leave TELUS, they no longer pay costly termination charges, but instead merely pay back their remaining device balance, plus a small administrative account closure charge of $50.
For more information about TELUS products and services, please visit www.telus.com.
Posted by Krista Spensley
When it comes to text messaging you can throw just about everything you know about spelling, grammer and punctuation out the window. You have 160 characters to convey your message to the recipient so the goal is to send short concise messages. An entirely new language has been created that consists of acronyms, abreviations and text short cuts to allow the you to use the limited number of characters effectively. That's great but can be difficult to understand if you are new to text messaging so I have put together a list of some of the most common text messaging terms.
- ADAD Another Day Another Dollar
- ADDY Address
- AFAYC As Far As Your Concerned
- AFC Away From the Computer
- ASAP As Soon As Possible
- AUC Aren't You Clever
- B4 Before
- B4N Bye For Now
- B/C Because
- BF Boyfriend
- BF Best Friend
- BFF Best Friends Forever
- BFN Bye for Now
- BRB Be Right Back
- BRT Be Right There
- BTW By the Way
- BW Best Wishes
- BZ Busy
- CM Call Me
- CUL8R See You Later
- CYE Check your e-Mail
- CYT See You Tomorrow
- C YA See You Later
- DGA Don't Go Anywhere
- DGT Don't Go There
- DNBL8 Don't Be Late
- EOM End of Message
- ETA Estimated Time of Arrival
- EZ Easy
- F2F Face to Face
- FOAF Friend of a Friend
- FTR For the Record
- FYI For Your Information
- G1 Good One
- GF Girl Friend
- GFI Go For It
- GMTA Great Minds Think Alike
- GTG Got to Go
- G2G Got to Go
- GTK Good To Know
- JJ Just Joking
- JM2C Just My Two Cents
- JMO Just My Opinion
- K Okay
- L8R Later
- LMK Let Me Know
- LOL Laughing Out Loud
- MOF Matter of Fact
- NC No Comment
- NP No Problem
- OIC Oh, I See
- OMG Oh My Goodness
- OO Over and Out
- SLM See Last Message
- SYS See You Soon
- TAFN That's All For Now
- THX Thanks
- TMI Too Much Information
- U You
- U2 You too
- WTG Way to Go
- WTMI Way Too Much Information
- YW You’re Welcome
- 2MI Too Much Information
- 4COL For Crying Out Loud
What is your favorite text messaging term?
Posted by Krista Spensley
Let's be honest the text message is a widely popular communications method in todays society. Anyone with a cell phone can participate in text messaging. Not only are texts convenient, they are downright fun! However, to avoid annoying friends, coworkers, or family members, it's wise to heed proper text messaging etiquette. Here are a few tips.
1
One of the most important rules in text messaging etiquette is keeping your phone on vibrate when at work or in a quiet public place such as a library, doctor's office or movie theater. Nothing is more annoying than the perpetual texter who doesn't silence the phone. No one wants to hear your text beep every five minutes.
2
Text messaging can be a great means to keep in touch with importants in your life while at work or school, but keep it to a minimum.
Keep them short and sweet. If you need to write someone an in-depth message, send an email. Otherwise, give them a ring or see them in person. Long texts can be confusing or tough to respond to.
4
Text messages can be a viable means of communication. If you know a friend is at work or in a meeting, being courteous and sending a text such as "Can you call me when you get the chance?" is a great alternative to calling their phone directly.
5
Use fun graphics, but don't be a "smiley freak." There is nothing quite like getting a wink or kiss from a partner or spouse via text message, as this encourages flirtation and fun. But, reserve smiley's for a few text messages to keep your messages special.
6
Don't text and drive. There are applications out there for smart phones that will automatically respond to text messages while driving.
Do you need someone to help you understand how to text? Stop by any one of our 3 Five Star Communications locations and let one of our dedicated customer satisfaction specialists show you how.
Posted by Krista Spensley
We want to you to help TELUS choose their next critter. For the last 15 years TELUS has been using critters in their advertising. In the past TELUS has had bunnies, hippos, dolphins and frogs representing their brand. Now the time has come to choose the next critter. A contest has been created where you, the consumer, get to vote for which critter will take centre stage in TELUS’ ads.
In all there are 27 animals to choose from in 3 categories:
1. Small Wonders choices are Bearded Dragon, Kinkajou, Koala, Marmoset, Miniature Horse, Possum, Red Panda, Saw Whet Owl and Tamandua.
2. Big Awesome choices are African Elephant, Alpaca, Baby Grizzly, Camel, Cheetah, Gibbon, Lion-Tailed Macaque, Otter and Wallaby.
3. Cool classics choices are Bunny, Chameleon, Duck, Giraffe, Hippo, Monkey, Pot-Bellied Pig, Pygmy Goat and Tree frog.
To vote go to the TELUS Critter Vote page on Facebook.
The best part in that there are some benefits to voting. TELUS will be donating $1 for every vote to the Nature Conservancy of Canada (up to $100,000) and every time you vote you’ll be entered into win an African Safari grand prize, or one of 10 BlackBerry Playbooks. In addition, after you vote you’ll get a promo code fro $100 of any smartphone.
Which one will you VOTE for?
Posted by Krista Spensley
Meet Dwayne the Device Protection Plan Fish....
At one point or another we have all experienced that uh oh moment when it comes to our cellular devices. You know the one I mean when you are just 6 -12 months into you new cellular contract and BAM! You drop your phone in the sink, your run over it with your car or worst of all you lose your device. You know the minute it happens that it is going to be expensive and time consuming to straighten out. With the TELUS Device Protection Plan it doesn't need to be expensive or time consuming.
For just $7*, per month per device, you gain peace of mind and eliminate the hassle and costs of repairing or replacing an unprotected device. With the TELUS Device Protection Plan, your wireless device costs are predictable, and the phone claims process is fast and straightforward.
Save time, money and aggravation.
TELUS Device Protection Plan is one of the most comprehensive wireless device replacement solutions in Canada. Key details include:
Covers mobile phones, smartphones, Mike handsets and mobile internet keys – loss, theft, accidental damage, and mechanical and/or electrical failures after the manufacturer’s warranty period has expired.
- Replacement wireless devices are often received within 2 business days. You must return your existing wireless device within 15 days. A charge of up to $300 applies if you fail to return your device unless the service request is for a lost or stolen device.
Replacement wireless devices may be new or remanufactured and/or a comparable model.
There is a $40, $80 or $150 non-refundable service request fee per approved service request depending on wireless device model.
Don't let this ...
Or this slow you down.....
Because with Device Protection Plan you're covered.
See more at Asurion
Posted by Krista Spensley
Are you ready? Even though everyone know the dangers of texting or talking on the phone while driving there are still people doing it. The province of Alberta is set to make a change to the rules and regulations surrounding Distracted Driving.
Quoting the Governement of Alberta Ministry of Transportation...
Driver distraction is a growing traffic safety concern among policy makers and the public. International studies have shown that 20 to 30 percent of collisions involve driver distraction. Alberta has taken a leadership role to address this serious traffic safety issue by recently passing Bill 16-
the Traffic Safety (Distracted Driving) Amendment Act, 2010-to help make our roads safer.
Highlights:
-
Restricts drivers from:
- using hand-held cell phones
- texting or e-mailing
- using electronic devices like laptop computers, video games, cameras, video entertainment displays and programming portable audio players (e.g., MP3 players)
- entering information on GPS units
- reading printed materials in the vehicle
- writing, printing or sketching, and
- personal grooming
- Complements the current driving without due care and attention legislation
- Applies to all vehicles as defined by the Traffic Safety Act including bicycles
- Applies to all roads in both urban and rural areas of the province
Bill 16 received Royal Assent on December 2, 2010. The distracted driving law could be in effect by the middle of 2011, and the proposed fine for this new offence is $172.
Knowing that this bill is coming Five Star Communications has expanded our product line of Blue Tooth Handfree Headsets and Speakers. Stop in today and let one of our customer service specialists help you decide what the right solution is for you.